Resolutions but not much resolve

Published: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 3:06 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 3:06 p.m.

Resolutions are as big a New Year's tradition as the Times Square shiny ball.

We all make them, but so very few of us keep them.

They have precious, fleeting lives that last anywhere from a couple hours to a few weeks, in most cases, with all but the most rare dying out long before the year is over.

We've all done it.

I'm going to quit smoking.

I'm going to start exercising.

I'm going to lose weight.

I'm going to get that big promotion at work.

Sure, we're all going to do tons of incredible things. But we can't always plan them out like an appointment book at the beginning of the year.

The New Year's resolution, though, is valuable for a few big reasons.

First, the end of one year represents a cutting of ties with the past, a way to say goodbye to all those old, bad habits that have weighed us down for far too long.

The arrival of the new year, with its magical cleaning of the slate, offers new possibilities that we just have to embrace to make them real.

The real reality, of course, is that we are the same weak folks who too often succumbed to the bad habits in the past. There is little reason to think we will significantly change our ways just because we turned a calendar page.

But anything can happen, right?

Here are a few of mine for 2013, just so you can laugh at me throughout the year as I inevitably violate each of these pristine hopes with the shortcomings that are my reality.

I will be better about eating bad foods

I have made some strides over the past year in losing some weight. Now I have to keep it off by continuing to move more and eat less — at least less of the wrong stuff. But I love the wrong stuff. Something as simple as a Reese's Cup, or preferably a bag of Reese's Cups, can set my hoped-for diet back months. No one is perfect, but few I've met have the undeniable weakness I possess for the delicious peanut butter-chocolate combination that makes the Reese's Cup the perfect candy. The best I can hope for, unfortunately, is to stay away from them. I am powerless in their presence. So if you see me this year, please say hello and offer any feedback you want on my column. Just keep the Reese's Cups to yourself. I am a very weak man.

I will be better about exercise

I have been running, off and on, since last April. It has been a wonderful re-finding of an old pastime. I ran when I was younger, but I went through a long period of time when there was almost no exercise in my life. Since renewing my embrace of running, though, I have been content to run my several miles every day or so, with little improvement in time or distance. That changes this year. I am going to try to run in some races in the hopes that the shame of finishing at the back of the pack will make me try to get better. You never know; it might work.

I will put out those cigarettes

I have been pretty good about not smoking. Running will do that for you. Even if you think you want a cigarette, your next run will prove to you that you really didn't. My thought on running is that it will make me want to smoke less. It has worked, for the most part. But there have been relapses. As much as I would love to stay smoke-free, I have given in to the urge too many times. That, I hope, is over.

I will not lose my temper

Try as I might, I still have the worst tendency to lose my patience, if not my temper. I have a bad habit, my wife tells me, of making an exasperated sound that is meant to be silent but that is apparently quite irritating to those around me. To them, I apologize and hope for better things in the new year.

So those are my resolutions. Do you have some good ones — kept or unkept? Let me know, and I'll try to get them into a future column.

Editorial Page Editor Michael Gorman can be reached at 448-7612 or by e-mail at mike.gorman@dailycomet.com.

<p>Resolutions are as big a New Year's tradition as the Times Square shiny ball.</p><p>We all make them, but so very few of us keep them.</p><p>They have precious, fleeting lives that last anywhere from a couple hours to a few weeks, in most cases, with all but the most rare dying out long before the year is over.</p><p>We've all done it.</p><p>I'm going to quit smoking.</p><p>I'm going to start exercising.</p><p>I'm going to lose weight.</p><p>I'm going to get that big promotion at work.</p><p>Sure, we're all going to do tons of incredible things. But we can't always plan them out like an appointment book at the beginning of the year.</p><p>The New Year's resolution, though, is valuable for a few big reasons.</p><p>First, the end of one year represents a cutting of ties with the past, a way to say goodbye to all those old, bad habits that have weighed us down for far too long.</p><p>The arrival of the new year, with its magical cleaning of the slate, offers new possibilities that we just have to embrace to make them real.</p><p>The real reality, of course, is that we are the same weak folks who too often succumbed to the bad habits in the past. There is little reason to think we will significantly change our ways just because we turned a calendar page.</p><p>But anything can happen, right?</p><p>Here are a few of mine for 2013, just so you can laugh at me throughout the year as I inevitably violate each of these pristine hopes with the shortcomings that are my reality.</p><h3>I will be better about eating bad foods</h3>
<p>I have made some strides over the past year in losing some weight. Now I have to keep it off by continuing to move more and eat less — at least less of the wrong stuff. But I love the wrong stuff. Something as simple as a Reese's Cup, or preferably a bag of Reese's Cups, can set my hoped-for diet back months. No one is perfect, but few I've met have the undeniable weakness I possess for the delicious peanut butter-chocolate combination that makes the Reese's Cup the perfect candy. The best I can hope for, unfortunately, is to stay away from them. I am powerless in their presence. So if you see me this year, please say hello and offer any feedback you want on my column. Just keep the Reese's Cups to yourself. I am a very weak man.</p><h3>I will be better about exercise</h3>
<p>I have been running, off and on, since last April. It has been a wonderful re-finding of an old pastime. I ran when I was younger, but I went through a long period of time when there was almost no exercise in my life. Since renewing my embrace of running, though, I have been content to run my several miles every day or so, with little improvement in time or distance. That changes this year. I am going to try to run in some races in the hopes that the shame of finishing at the back of the pack will make me try to get better. You never know; it might work.</p><h3>I will put out those cigarettes</h3>
<p>I have been pretty good about not smoking. Running will do that for you. Even if you think you want a cigarette, your next run will prove to you that you really didn't. My thought on running is that it will make me want to smoke less. It has worked, for the most part. But there have been relapses. As much as I would love to stay smoke-free, I have given in to the urge too many times. That, I hope, is over.</p><h3>I will not lose my temper</h3>
<p>Try as I might, I still have the worst tendency to lose my patience, if not my temper. I have a bad habit, my wife tells me, of making an exasperated sound that is meant to be silent but that is apparently quite irritating to those around me. To them, I apologize and hope for better things in the new year.</p><p>So those are my resolutions. Do you have some good ones — kept or unkept? Let me know, and I'll try to get them into a future column.</p><p>Editorial Page Editor Michael Gorman can be reached at 448-7612 or by e-mail at mike.gorman@dailycomet.com.</p>